CBoT defends exercise rights

Chicago Board of Trade (CBoT) chairman Charlie Carey stated
last week that the exchange will protect CBoT members' exercise
rights as it pushes ahead with its demutualisation plans.

FO Week has obtained a copy of a letter Carey
issued to members on 11 January, stating that, "a restructured
CBoT will defend the exercise right as vigorously as it has
done in the past. By the same token, the potential for future
disputes should not lessen our resolve to restructure."

The exercise right, which allows CBoT full members to trade
on Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), has become a point of
contention for one CBOE member, Marshall Spiegel. Spiegel has
waged a one-man campaign against CBOE's plan to purchase
exercise rights from CBoT members willing to sell them, for
$60,000 to $100,000 (see FO Week Vol 9 No 47).